Aga Khan was father of EA journalism

He looked me in the eye, smiled, stretched his hand and gave me a firm handshake. The Group Managing Director Wilfred Kiboro introduced him to the News Desk team: “Pleased to meet you. How do you conduct your daily work?” he asked.

I explained to him our news-gathering operations and took him through the coordination of regional offices, the city and international teams of reporters and correspondents. I then gave him a quick visual tour of large diary on the News Desk.

My senior, Mutegi Njau had earlier told me: “The Aga Khan is coming and I want you to be the one to talk on our behalf. He might mistake my Kimeru accent for an insult” we laughed and waited.

He was a keen listener. He would only throw in a question after he was sure I had exhausted my explanation. Once he had finished his queries, he shook my hand again, patted me on the shoulder and said: “Thank you for your time” he then walked away.

This was the first time I was meeting face to face with my ‘real employer’, the founder of the media house I worked for. It was the desire and dream of many journalists at the Nation to meet the man who at the age of 20 took over the position of Imam and the title of Aga Khan from his grandfather Aga Khan III in 1957.

A year later, just before Kenya gained her independence from Britain, he bought Taifa Leo and later established Sunday Nation and Daily Nation. He acquired Taifa from a Mzungu known as Charles Hayes, in 1958. Today, the Nation Group also owns a broadcast division which includes NTV.

“To me and many others, His Highness the Aga Khan, was the father and high patron of Kenyan and East African journalism. The Nation Media Group would in the mid-2000s set up Mwananchi Communications in Dar es Salaam, which had the English language paper, The Citizen, where I worked as the Consulting Editor from 2007 to 2011.

The Nation Media also bought the Monitor in Kampala, setting high standards for Ugandan journalism. I worked at Monitor Publications in 2012/13 as the Consulting Editor.

To ensure the future of East African journalism, the Aga Khan set up the Aga Khan University Graduate School of Media and Communications.

"I may never have met him personally, but like many other journalists, my media prowess was nurtured under his wide wings of socio-economic development,” says Khakhudu Agunda, a retired Training and Opinion Editor, Nation Media Group.

The arrival of the Nation Newspapers Limited, gave stiff competition to The East African Standard (today The Standard) which had been established in 1902.

Recalls Khakhudu; “While at the beginning, the Aga Khan's media team recruited reporters and editors from Fleet Street in the UK, he righted this from the beginning when he was a young student at Harvard. Keen to nurture African media leadership, he allowed Hillary Ng'weno, at only 25, to became the first African Editor-in-Chief of the Nation” 

While studying journalism at the Kenya Institute of Mass Communication, my dream and that of many others, was to work at either; The East African Standard or the Nation. These two groups defined what Journalism was in the minds of all aspiring journalists.

The Aga Khan gave us the courage and confidence to be the mouthpiece of the Kenyan citizens. Through our incisive, deeply researched news articles and features, we took on the government of Daniel Arap Moi in an era when ‘fighting’ the government and the ruling party Kanu could easily cost you your life.

The Nation became a nightmare for the State. At one time in 1994, President Moi ordered me to join him at the dais at a public rally in Lwakhakha. While holding my hand firmly, Moi told the crowd: “Just the other day, this young man was singing and dancing for President Jomo Kenyatta and I. Today, he is busy fighting my government through his tribal newspaper”

A few years later, I would join Moi for a delicious cup of spiced tea at State House Nairobi while waiting for the Aga Khan to arrive. The late legend Photographer Mohamed Amin and I, found ourselves alone inside a spacious waiting room at the State House. We were busy reminiscing and telling stories when Moi strolled in. We quickly stood up to greet him. He shook our hands and asked us to join him at a large table that had been laid out neatly with cups and cutlery.

Slowly and gently, Moi poured out a cup of tea for each of us. He asked us how much sugar we would take and proceeded to stir it for us. He then turned to me and said: “Kijana yangu, huyu Muindi wenu si ako na pesa mingi sana” (My boy, this Indian of yours, (referring to the Aga Khan), has a lot of money, doesn’t he?

“Yes, your Excellency. In fact, he is a billionaire.” I answered

We talked about the politics of Kenya with Moi asking us why some people were fighting his good leadership and development record. Just as we finished taking our tea, the Aga Khan arrived. Moi introduced us to him and allowed us a few more handshakes and photo session with his guests. We were then asked to allow for them have their bilateral discussions before joining them later to a state luncheon.

My second meeting with the Aga Khan at the State House wasn’t as dramatic as the first one.

Then came the moment when the Aga Khan was officially opening the modern Nation Printing press along the Nairobi-Mombasa Road. I arrived early to take up my seat and ensure that my team got some vantage point for proper coverage of the ceremony. I had to rush back to the gate to investigate some commotion. Some of my bosses had been stopped and had been denied entry into their own plant.

“We do not know you” came some adamant answer from fierce-looking members of the presidential security team.

“Bro, please allow them in. In fact, these are my bosses” I told the security men. Their leader glared at my bosses, some of who had broken into sweat, and told them: “You should thank Bwana Atemi here” I later told one of my seniors: “That out there showed you the difference between a house nigger and a field nigger. Some of us work both in the field and on the desk and that is why we are known and have a rapport with the presidential guards. You should pay me for saving your sorry behind”